Showing posts with label Fool. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Fool. Show all posts

Sunday, April 1, 2018

Disney's 'The Lion King': Opening in Antarctica in 2019

A "Frozen Lion King"??

Here's the announcement:
For the first time, Disney's legendary stage musical, The Lion King, goes where no musical has gone before. The seventh continent. The Lion King has played on every continent except one. Opening on April 1st 2019, in a 2000 seat ice theatre, in Antarctica. Below, watch as the team behind Disney's The Lion King takes you behind the scenes as it plans its most challenging production ever. (BroadwayWorld)
#AprilFools2018

We do love how people get on board with folklore and play with April Fool's Day, adding to the surreal world of possibilities on the one day of the year that people are constantly reminded to check their facts; something we think is important 365/366 days of the year.

That said, a Frozen Lion King doesn't sound completely ridiculous... ;)

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

"The Fool and the Fish" illustrated by Gennady Spirin


Today, with fools and tricksters on the brain, I thought I'd offer reference of some tales. Here's this years "fools tale".

There are a number of variations, even within Russia, of The Fool and the Fish. Sometimes the 'fool' is Ivan and sometimes he's Yemelya or Emilian or Emelyan but the result is the same: a foolish (and rather lazy) boy catches a pike and, when it speaks to him, he releases it. His good heart and merciful deed is rewarded by wishes. Lots of them! (We don't hear much from him after he gets his princess, er tsarina, but then when something like that happens, you rarely do..)

Russian fool tales tend to have simple demands, simple wishes and this one is no different. All of the wishes have to do with ordinary things: water buckets that walk themselves home, a sledge that moves by itself (no horse - or person - needed), and axe that can chop wood all by itself. They're childlike in many ways, magical though still not really believable and nowhere near the realm of magical three-headed dragons. They're quite domestic. I think that may be one of the appeals of the Russian fool for me personally - they're pretty down to earth. While they're often considered lazy, they can also be seen as people who take life day by day, season by season, not straining under  the need to be 'more' but enjoying whatever life has to offer. This is a quality that seems to make them level headed rulers, too, when any of them reach that status.

I wanted to add a note I found, too, in the book What Every Russian Knows (And You Don't) by Olga Fedina. She writes:
"You cannot talk about the genre of (fool) tales, about "simpletons" with mentioning the role that the yurodivy, the "holy fool" - has played in Russian culture. Holy fools were those who rejected (or fell out of) normal life to live on the street, abasing themselves completely, going around in rags and acquiring a reputation for being clairvoyants and close to God. This figure, present in many traditions and religions, has been very important in Russia. Being mad or simulating madness helped the yurodivy to detach himself from society and the social hierarchy. They were believed to be divinely inspired, and their utterances, usually in the form of riddles were given a lot of attention. Harming a holy fool was considered a terrible sin, and even the tsars listened to what they had to say."

But back to the wishing fish. A little background on just how the pike is considered, helps shed a different light on the tale as well.
Schuka is a pike fish. The Slavs of old assigned terrifying abilities to this fish – people thought it could swallow a man and that the Water Spirit rode it in the watery kingdoms. (FTNH edit: it's easy to see how this then translates to a fish with magical powers.) In Russian fairy tales, the pike assumes more reasonable proportions and a more harmless nature.
(FTNH edit: a little sampling of artist renditions of the pike from various nations below- it's a monster fish!)
 

I couldn't find artist names to credit for these unfortunately.
The bottom one has a fairly clear name but as I can't read Russian I can't even type it.
See HERE for more info on the legendary size of this fish.
In fact a meeting with a pike fish brings good luck, as the fish can even grant wishes. But you have to catch it first, as Yemelya the Fool (or Ivan in some versions) does in the fairy tale of the same name, and then release it back into the water. There is no limit to the wishes you may ask. Yemelya gets eight wishes in his tale. The tale here is “The Fool and the Fish.” (source)
This version is illustrated by the incredible Russian artist Gennady Spirin, who seems to have an affinity for illustrating fairytales, no matter where they hark from. The text for the 'original' tale can be found (in English) HERE.

In the book Russian Folk Tales by William Ralston Shedden Ralston (not a typo - that is actually his name), there are some notes accompanying the story Emilian the Fool, of which I have taken some pics to include below:
 Did you know that in France, which is thought to be the origin of Aprils Fool's Day, the day is actually called Poisson D'Avril, meaning, literally, April Fish. Children commonly attempt to stealthily stick a paper or cardboard fish on their friend's backs and when it's discovered shout "Poisson d'Avril!" What the connection is between April 1st to fools and fish seems to be unclear. There is a whole history about the need to move the date (as in, change the calendar to start the year on a different date), which was supposed to take effect on April 1st, though some refused to acknowledge this and become the butt of pranks because of it. That makes the fool part clear but not the fish.

There's one theory that changing the date affected changing the end of Lent, in which people weren't/aren't supposed to eat meat. When Lent was over, fish was/is the common meat given and eaten so it's likely fake fish were given to those believing Lent was (finally!) over, only to find they couldn't eat meat at all (yet).

And now I feel foolish that the day is almost over and I haven't had time to post this yet... at least I got it on the right date - even if it was after midday.

Happy April Fish, er, First!
Fairy tale bonuses of the day:

Emelya beer label
Useful Russian expressions based to The Fool and the Fish:
There is a great saying associated with the fairy tale used in every day Russian language.
"By the pike's command" - you can use this phrase when talking about something good that comes out of nowhere, as if by magic.

Or you can use a different version of the same phrase (it sounds different in Russian but translates to be the same in English) to tell someone he is lazy and wants everything to happen by magic."By the pike's command."






Advertising references:

You can see above that there's a beer names after the lazy Emelya but there's a bunch of Russian snack food I found as well. (interesting..)

Fool and the Pike by Lev Ovchinnikov 
You can also find reference to this fairy tale today in a make of Russian car seat heaters called "Yemelya" - the marketing being "it is twenty degrees below zero outside, but you are nice and comfortable in your car, as though it was a magic Russian stove you were driving around."

There is also a special truck line called Yemelya that was used to first reach the North Pole in a motorized vehicle. The trucks were named after the fairy tale character who did not like to leave his stove and preferred to travel with it. In fact in this version of the story the oven is magic and could cut trees for fire.
“The joke is that the vehicle is built so well that it’s good for lazy people,” says Yelagin.
(A discussion on Russia and their relation to stoves and ovens is a whole other fascinating subject!)

On Fools and How We Choose To See the World

Vladimir Kush - The Madness of Don Quixote
Happy April Fool's Day!
Interesting thought, isn't it? How we choose to see things as opposed to how we truly see things.

Is anyone familiar with the German novel by Christoph Martin Wieland, based on Don Quixote, in which the main character saw fairies and many other things from fairy tales? I need to do more research...
Artist unknown

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

All Fool's Day (aka The Day We Remember Not To Believe Everything We Read On the Internet)

Update: My apologies for this late addition! Apparently I closed the post after saving but without publishing, so it didn't post when it should have.
Ah yes - I should just schedule this day as a day off from the news. In fact, I'm not even going to bother checking headlines until tomorrow because, well, you know... :)



April 1st is a day we can't even believe Google (and should be very wary about the 24 hours before as well) but it's a good reminder at how any one of us can be fooled - and by anyone.
Ivan the Fool is a staple character in Russian fairy tales, very much like the English Jack and the German Hans. The difference is that Ivan is not just an everyman but simple (sometimes simple-minded too), likable and especially lucky.



While I tend to like most Russian tales for one reason or another, I'm just as drawn to Ivan as I am to the English Jack but for slightly different reasons.



Wikipedia puts it well:
Unlike typical heroes, it is Ivan's simplicity and lack of guile that turn out to help him in his adventures. For example he listens to his heart, rather than his mind, he easily forgets offence and endeavours to help others even at his own expense. His naivety, kindness and daring help him fight villains, make friends, win princesses' hearts and ultimately he is rewarded with half a kingdom or some similar accomplishment. 
The moral of these stories is that Ivan The Fool is rarely the fool, he is merely perceived as such by others owing to his simple nature and joviality.


I recently found these lovely illustrations by another incredible Russian illustrator, Igor Oleynikov, who was recently nominated for the 2014 Han Christian Andersen Award, and have been keeping them for an appropriate post. It occurred to me that today is perfect for them. Unfortunately I can't read Russian and the images don't make translating very easy. All I really know, apart from Mr. Oleynikov being the illustrator, is that the title of the book is Ivan the Fool and that it's an adaptation of Leo Tolstoy's literary fairy tale*, Ivan the Fool, retold by the loved and respected Russian children's poet, Andrei Usachev (published 2008). The fairy tale is also titled The Old Devil and the Three Small Devils or A Lost Opportunity.


Just from the illustrations it looks a lot like a few fairy tales I'm vaguely familiar with, combined into one, though the green bearded goblin-looking creature is actually supposed to be the/a devil in this story (who is defeated, of course).

A little fairy tale bonus for the day:
HERE's an online English translation of Tolstoy's fairy tale, thanks to the University of Adelaide in Australia.

Ivan the Fool

* It's Tolstoy so yes, expect a political agenda in this tale.

Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Fool & Russia's Beloved Ivanushka-Durachok


Happy April Fool's Day everyone!

Though today is more about Tricksters and practical jokes, we couldn't have the trick-er without the trick-ee, thus is today the day in which our 'Fool' sides (and sometimes our Knave sides!) are exposed. It's a day for fun, to check your wits are in working order and, in a roundabout way, to celebrate both the good and the bad of fooling and of being fooled.
Baba Yaga Helping the Young Ivanushka (source)

It's no coincidence that the jester - or fool - of medieval courts was beloved (usually) by the king. Under the guise of silliness, this man often had the inside track on all dealings and machinations at court and wasn't afraid to expose them. In fact, it was their job to point out inconsistencies and to make fun of situations, including the king (or Queen's) role in such. In medieval times, when the common people weren't literate or understood the languages most used for writing (eg Latin), clowns often were 'employed' to interpret what was being said by authorities for the people, kind of like a court reporter of sorts or jokester with immunity (at least to a point and why am I reminded of Jon Stewart and his Daily Show here?). What the head honchos (Kings and Priests) didn't count on, however, was that these clowns would not only interpret the words and the meanings behind them but they would also make clear the hypocrisy at play. Needless to say, clowns were banished from the church while court fools though better tolerated were in danger of a severe whipping. (See Wikipedia for other aspects of the history of the Jester HERE.) For other aspects of The Fool it's interesting to see what this archetype means in a tarot deck (see HERE for the Wikipedia entry on The Fool card in Tarot).
An unusual Fool card with a woman from The World Tarot Deck

The Fool is an important archetype in fairy tales too, sometimes substituted for the 'everyman' character, and usually triumphant where smarter, stronger, richer characters (often siblings) aren't - the Fool's advantage being his good heart. Sometimes 'Jack' (of many stories) is the lucky fool but nowhere is he more prevalent (and loved) than in Russia, going under the name Ivan the Fool or, more fondly, Ivanushka-Durachok.
Ivan and the Grey Wolf
by Viktor Vasnetsov

A more extensive research post will have to wait for next year but for today I'll point you to a starter list of 'fool fairy tales' HERE (featuring both the truly foolish and tricksters) and show you a lovely fairy tale matryoshka doll set, featuring the beloved Russian fool, Ivan.
From the description HERE, where these dolls are for sale:
Young Ivan, always deemed a fool by his elder brothers, managed to catch a golden-mane mare, depicted on the second Matryoshka nesting doll, and when the Tsar ordered him to bring a wonderful firebird, Ivan after numerous adventures, was able to fulfill the command, bringing not only the bird, bur also a lovely maiden to the court. The young girl, portrayed on the third Matryoshka nesting doll, refused to be the Tsar’s wife, and the fairy-tale ends with the happy marriage of Ivan and the charming tsar-maiden.
There are many more close-ups at the link. The site also features a Cinderella nesting egg set HERE.

There's also an interesting short article HERE, which includes a list of the Fool character as portrayed in TV, film ("The Man Who Knew Too Little" is a fun and wonderful example) and other forms of media, with Russia's lucky and good-hearted simpleton, Ivan, making a few appearances.
Firebird
by MikhailParilov


One thing is certain, there's much more to fools than meets the eye. Fools in fairy tales are not only often the winners, they're also the ones in possession of that most sought after treasure: happiness.